1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a group of antibiotics which have a unique activity against Pseudomonas species. Pseudomonas species have been implicated in a variety of serious infections, such as meningitis, respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, intestinal infections (infants), joint infections and otitis. P. aeruginosa causes a dangerous infection of the eye. Pseudomonas species are common infectious agents in aerobic wound infections. P. aeruginosa is one of the three organisms which are most likely to infect burns. Neonatal meningitis caused by Pseudomonas is associated with a high mortality rate and a high incidence of residual neurological damage. Agents which are active against Pseudomonas are, therefore, greatly needed. Pseudomonas species are generally refractive to most antibiotics.
2. The Prior Art
The A-38533 antibiotics belong to a new class of antibiotics and appear to be related to antibiotic 6798 RP (British Patent No. 846,801) and to the recently discovered antibiotic FR 3383 [see unexamined Japanese patent applications 1054-988 (Derwent Abstract No. 49101X) and 2092-881 (Derwent Abstract No. 66033Y); Japanese Kokai 76 54,988 (Chem. Abstr. 85: 121791x); and presentation of K. Umehara et al. at the 207th Scientific Meeting JNRA, November, 1977, "Studies on a new antibiotic FR 3383. Discovery, fermentation, extraction, chemical and biological properties." (Fujisawa Yakuhin Central Res. Labs.)]. Antibiotic FR 3383 differs from A-38533 factors A.sub.1, B and C in movement in chromatographic systems and differs from A-38533 factor A.sub.2 in that FR 3383 contains 3.3% sulfur (see Derwent Abstract No. 66033Y) whereas A-38533 factor A.sub.2 contains only trace amounts of sulfur by elemental analysis.